SpyOff Review

SpyOff appears to be attempting to provide a quality service. Sadly, however, we were unable to get the necessary encryption information to enable us to recommend this VPN for privacy. In our experience, providers that are cagey about encryption details usually have something to hide. Connection speeds were found to be adequate, and the VPN client is easy to use on all platforms.

Features

Sareta S.r.l (SpyOff's parent company) is based in San Marino. San Marino is considered good for privacy because it isn't a 5 eyes nation. Sareta has German offices and employees, and the SpyOff website and VPN clients are available in either English or German.

No logs

Three simultaneous connections

Over 21,000 IP addresses in 21 countries

Killswitch

Apps for all platforms

Choice of encryption including OpenVPN

Reliable Performance (unblocks Netflix US)

Speed and Performance

Speeds were tested on a 30 Mbps internet connection. The VPN caused connection speeds to drop by two thirds, with UK and French servers both averaging a shade under 10 Mbps. US servers showed a similar drop to around 9 Mbps. While these speeds are Okay for streaming, they are hardly mind-blowing and will probably cause some issues with gaming and intensive HD. Thus, this might not be the best option for Netflix.

No IP leaks, DNS leaks, or WebRTC leaks were detected using this VPN. However, I was unable to test for IPv6 because my ISP does not provide IPv6 connections.

Price

SpyOff has three subscription plans that differ only in price. $11.50 will buy you a one-month "Starter" service. The price drops down to $8.10 per month if you pay annually. Each plan comes with all available servers. Alternatively, you may opt to pay $12.50 for the Premium Plus plan - also billed once per year - which includes Premium Support and "VPN tricks" (does not seems worth the extra money).

Overall, SpyOff can be considered an expensive VPN service that seems a rip-off. Personally. I would prefer to get the best VPN in the world at a cheaper price. Or, one of the best, for more than half the cost.

Subscribers can only pay for SpyOff with a major credit card. No Bitcoin or Paypal is permitted. Finally, despite offering a 30-day money back guarantee, it is worth noting that many subscribers have complained that the VPN refuses to honor its refund policy - instead, referring consumers to the fine print in its policy.

Privacy and security

SpyOFF has a zero logs policy. This means it does not have any data to hand over to the authorities should it be approached with a warrant.

SpyOFF VPN users get to choose between PPTP, L2TP, and OpenVPN encryption. Unfortunately, my request for exact information about OpenVPN implementation was refused, meaning that I am unable to verify whether this VPN is good for privacy purposes.

"The connection with SpyOFF is secured via SSL encryption on every system. We can not provide you with a full encryption suite."

Final Thoughts

Considering the cost of this VPN, it is hard not to be critical. Speeds were Okay but definitely not fast. And, despite the fact that it was found to successfully unblock Netflix, it would probably be too slow to enjoy HD streams. Being based in San Marino and having a zero-logs policy is a winner, but without specific details about its OpenVPN implementation, I am left unable to judge whether this VPN is good for privacy.

Customer support is not available via live chat despite the astronomical subscription costs. And I also found the firm slow to respond to email requests, which was frustrating. The clients are easy to use, and they do have a kill switch - so it isn't all bad. And I discovered no leaks whatsoever, which is promising.

My overall impression is that this young VPN has potential. However, at the moment it is wildly overpriced for what you get. Perhaps, in time, the VPN will come to understand why it is important to be transparent about its encryption; which would definitely improve this review. One can only hope.

Finally, we urge the VPN to begin honoring its refund policy, not doing so is only going to severely tarnish its reputation.

Digital privacy expert with 4+ years experience testing and reviewing VPNs. He's been quoted in The Express, Barrons, the Scottish Herald, ThreatPost, CNET & many more. Ray is currently rated number 1 VPN authority by Agilience.com.

19 Comments

Catalin Popa

Ansertiver

I'm using spyoffvpn now for over 6 months. The website does look a bit different now but the client still does look like this. The speed of their service is amazing and i can only recommend it. I used the trial for their service and was convinced.

Alex

QtPy

So i found SpyOFF on some random website and thought that since i can test them for free, to give them a chance. And i decided to stick to them. The client is really straighforward and easy to use. The biggest plus is the speed of their servers. I really did not expect that speed but it was amazing. The only thing that i am wondering is, that they are that hard to find. I can only recommend using their free trial to see on your own!